Public backlash forces “Worms” game NFT to be canceled

The non-fungible token (NFT) space might be the darling of many crypto enthusiasts but it appears that some remain unconvinced about the space.

This was what Team 17, a video game publisher, found out after its gaming community kicked against plans of incorporating NFTs into its Worms video game franchise.

Team 17 forced to shelve NFT plans

Yesterday, the video game publisher was forced to confirm the turn of events after its community criticized its decision extensively.

“We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space,” the tweet reads in part.

Initially, the publisher had planned to step into the burgeoning NFT space with the launch of NFT collectibles through the partnership with Reality Gaming Group.

The said NFT would tap inspiration from the 26-year-old Worms franchise and was expected to be built on an Ethereum sidechain called the Digital Asset Trading platform.

But this decision was met with heavy criticism. In fact, one notable partner of the British publisher, Aggro Crab threatened to end its several years’ partnerships with Team 17 if it continued with its proposed NFT plan.

We will not be working with them on further titles, and encourage other indie developers to do the same unless this decision is reversed.

Other developers who had worked with the game publisher in the past like AMG Studio and Playtonic Games also opposed the NFT plans.

Other games publishers who have faced backlashes for their NFT adventure

Team 17 is not the only game publisher that has faced harsh criticism for its adventure into the NFT space. Gaming publishers like Ubisoft, Konami, and Square Enix also witnessed a high level of backlash from their community members after revealing that they were looking to integrate NFTs into their games.

However, despite the criticism from its community, Ubisoft launched the Ubisoft Quartz NFT platform with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Aside from the gaming community, Kanye West also recently vocalized his disdain for the NFT community saying he is more focused on “building real products in the real world real food real clothes real shelter.”

Critics of the NFT industry have pointed out the environmental concerns about the major blockchain network the space is dependent on, Ethereum. Other critics believe that the space gives publishers an extra avenue to extort money from players.

But despite all of these concerns and criticism, the NFT market saw a culmination of around $7 billion trades in the recently concluded month.